Site Mobile Navigation

Britain Seeks to Restrict K.G.B. Inquest Disclosures

The British government sought on Tuesday to limit the information it would disclose at a planned inquest into the death of Alexander V. Litvinenko, a former officer in the K.G.B. who succumbed to radiation poisoning in London more than six years ago. The coroner hearing the case said that it may now be postponed.

“Due to the complexity of the investigation which necessarily precedes the hearings,” the coroner, Sir Robert Owen, said, “it may not be possible to adhere” to the planned May 1 start date for the hearings.

The inquest would be the first — and probably the only — public forum where witnesses would testify under oath about the killing, which strained Britain’s relationship with the Kremlin and kindled memories of the cold war.

The prospect of a postponement brought accusations from Ben Emmerson, a lawyer representing Mr. Litvinenko’s widow, Marina Litvinenko, that the British government was trying to gag the inquiry to protect lucrative trade deals with Russia.

Referring to Prime Minister David Cameron, Mr. Emmerson said on Tuesday that “the British government, like the Russian government, is conspiring to get this inquest closed down in exchange for substantial trade interests, which we know Mr. Cameron is pursuing.”

The British government, he said, had “no right to say to an independent judiciary, ‘you may not investigate these issues’ — that happens in Russia, for sure.” He added: “This has all the hallmarks of a situation which is shaping up to be a stain on British justice.”

Sir Robert, the coroner, said he would rule on Wednesday on the government’s application for what is known as a Public Interest Immunity Certificate, which would block the inquest from hearing information on certain topics, usually on national security grounds. Sir Robert did not reveal the particulars of the government’s request.

Photo

Marina Litvinenko, the widow of Alexander V. Litvinenko, right, in London on Tuesday.Credit
Luke Macgregor/Reuters

British analysts say they believe the government wants to avoid disclosing any information that might link Mr. Litvinenko to the British security services.

In a preparatory hearing in December, Mr. Emmerson, the lawyer, asserted that Mr. Litvinenko had been a “registered and paid agent and employee of MI6,” as the British Secret Intelligence Service is known. Mr. Litvinenko also worked for the Spanish intelligence service, Mr. Emmerson said, and both agencies made payments into a joint account with his wife. The lawyer said that the coroner’s inquest should consider whether MI6 failed in its duty to protect Mr. Litvinenko, who fled Russia in 2000 and styled himself a whistle-blower and foe of the Kremlin.

Mr. Litvinenko died in November 2006 at the age of 43, a few weeks after he secured British citizenship. He had unknowingly ingested polonium 210 — a rare radioactive isotope — at the Pine Bar of the Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square in London.

British prosecutors are seeking the extradition from Russia of Andrei K. Lugovoi, another former K.G.B. officer, to face trial on murder charges in the case. Mr. Lugovoi denies the accusation. Russia says its Constitution forbids sending its citizens to other countries to face trial.

The coroner has said in previous hearings that he would examine what was known about threats to Mr. Litvinenko and try to determine whether the Russian state bore responsibility. In a deathbed statement, Mr. Litvinenko directly blamed President Vladimir V. Putin, who dismissed the accusation.

Mr. Emmerson, the lawyer, complained on Tuesday that the preparations for the inquest were being bogged down by “the government’s attempt to keep a lid on the truth.”

British media outlets, including the BBC and The Guardian newspaper, are opposing the government’s effort to restrict the evidence. The Guardian said that “the public and media are faced with a situation where a public inquest into a death may have large amounts of highly relevant evidence excluded from consideration by the inquest. Such a prospect is deeply troubling.”

But the Foreign Office said the authorities acted in line with their duty to protect national security, and that the coroner would rule according to “the overall public interest.”

A version of this article appears in print on February 27, 2013, on page A10 of the New York edition with the headline: Britain Seeks to Restrict K.G.B. Inquest Disclosures. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe